'BRITISH BUGGED DE GAULLE AND KEPT ME INFORMED,' SAID FRANCO

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01350R000200030027-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 2004
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: October 18, 1976
• Content Type: NSPR

THE LONDON TIMES t`f t'NCcj I"y'f?\JCt5ce,
18 Octobe g76
Approved For Release 200 /0 /13 : CIA-RDP88-01350R00020003&7 ~, Ge eF~~u .
fl J L J L - J U R \ . J A - - >w -::r.r
tions by the author.
The general told his secre-
tarv that . General 'tie Gaut-le
"made his worst mistake by
allowing political parties . . .
because parties have always
been the cause of agitation and
infighting."
General hrancu kept: a pho-
tograph of Hitler in his study,
and said of hint : " Ilitler? was
always quite correct with ate
and he never showed signs of
the bad chat'actcr or trnlpera-
ailent which others attributed
?
:Aide account of Spanish dictator's conversations
aver, the late 4Yest German
Chancellor, was "ragnificent"
and Mussdlini was " a great
patriot ".
Thy new national magazine.
Opinion, publishing; serialized
extracts from the. book, says :
"Apparently the Vt?anco-Vitla-
verde, family , was not very
pleased about the publication
`British b~ggedde Gaulle -thd kept:
me informer sai. ra cy
From Harry Debelius.
Madrid, Oct 17
British lntelli ante agents
allegedly bugged General de
Gaulle's office when he was
President of France, and
relayed the information to
General Franco, according to a
book by one of the Spanish
ruler's closest aides.
.General Franco is quoted 'as -
listing told his military secre-
tary at -Et Pardo palace in
Madrid on December' G 1933,
speaking of General de
Gaulle:
to In nt.
The allies have put up stub
enough from Iihili,- and they Me .Khrushcllev, the late
should not be so considerate Soviet Je.tder, was " sincere
wt h. Kira. England took advan.. and peace-loving , Dr Adeli-
erned before, and they have
had an apparatus installed in
his office to record everything
de Gaulle said, and afterwards
this was copied down by an
English Secret Service agent.
London kept us informed, and
that is why we are perfectly
aware of the thoughts and
plans of the President of the
Government of our neighbour
nation." who wrote the . introduction,
The book, entitled, My Pri- admits that some passages have
vote ... Conversations tuitlt been deleted.
Franco., published by Planeta Tile first 45,000 copies of the
in 'Barcelona, was written by, book sold out in the first three
Lieutenant-General ' Francisco days.
Franco Salgado-Aratijo, the The book was edited posthtu-
late Spanish ruler's military mnttsly by the widow of the
secretary and second cousin author. It includes'tbe author's
who died three years before bitter remarks about how Gen-
him. era) Franco failed to appre-
The book also reveals that ciare all the sacrifices he had
General Franco was convinced made on his behalf.
that the American Central In- The book, consisting of a
telligence Agency was trying series of diary-like c'risodes,
to overthrow his regime. Yet begins as follows : "If these
he was equally convinced that impressions ?l re published
such a policy was mistaken some clay, neither Franco nor
and that his police could pro- I will be any longer in this
tect him from an assassination world. 'My only proposal is to
attempt. Jet the absolute truth be
The CIA's goal, in the known, written by one svho.
opinion of the general was "to lived close to the Caudillo for
implant an American-style many years. who owes him a
1 democracy the day I disappear. c'abt of gratitude like any
But they ore mistaken. It will oilier Spaniard but who does
only contribute to disorder not forget .that the fatherland
will subversion . and only and the loyalty we. owe it are
Russia will gain from that." above Franco"
As for his own safety, he General Franco is shown to
felt that 90 per cent of the
Spanish people supported hint.
The late President Kennedy's
security forces "could not have
been more inefficient and
disastrous," in the general's ilk only'human failing was General Franco is quoted as
opinion. -Spanish police could his passion for hunting and saving : "As you well know, I
do better: "If necessa
we fish;." General Franco him
v
n
et- en
1
F
i t"
ry
v
-
,
e
a
a c
. just bri,,AppriwedtfcpffReileasef2QrD~i2f/1t2iltiCiAmRQR$8- i 35@1 AtQD 0021ia is
from all'tlie provinces." when he was sent on a .temper- only one thing, a Francoite,
The book consists of a mix- ar-y assignment to Paris as a and he will be chief of stater
lure of verbatim quotes of the young officer, he had firmly until, he dies:'
of the ` book." It adds that
Senor Miguel juste. the lawyer
refused all invitations to
explore that city's night life.
The secretary complains
more than once about the time
and public money spent by-
General Franco on bunting
and fishing trips rather than _
on affairs of state. Shooting
expeditions. frequently turned .
di
f
r
eo
le seek-
i
ences
p
nto au
o
p
in g - favours 'and business
advantages. After returning
from a hunting or fishing trip,
the geuertl would often spend
up to an hour standing and
chauing vitli his ministers
.:bout the cat.clh.
This obviously bored his
secretary, who quotes a remark
from General Agustin itluiiox
Grandes : "If we do not talk
with him about his catch, he
will put its all on the retired
list."
More than General Franco
himself, the people who stir-
rounded him come in for cri-
Iicistn. _ The general's wife,
Senora Carmen Polo de
Franco, was " absurdly
haughty"_ The first Vice-
President, General 1\Mmox
Grandes, is said to have had his
eye on General Franco's job..
Receptions. at El. Pardo
palace were full of people who
were playacting? and General
Franco's personality was too
chilly to break down the bar-
rier of sham and adulation.
The Caudillo is it very kind
elan but cold, very cold. Many
times lie has left his friends
frozen.... This attitude is
more pronounced: when his
wife is present" .
Ile was playing off one fac-
against another and one
tion
personality against another, lis-
telling to each -
The Caudillo never IN,. r
anything. He lives contented
and seems to ignore mood,
public opinion and many other
things, preferring to believe
only what his ministers =tell
In 1955 the general told his
secretary : "At the end of the
war the victors wanted to
make sure that the nations
they defeated would not rise
rounded. by flatterers, . social them to adopt the democratic
climbers, power hungry people system, knotting full well that'l
and people seeking personal this would never bring them
LIC LW/- e4? %
tr rrv5 .. C, x FPW,